Ultraviolet, the cloud movie locker that stored digital copies of users’ films, announced that it will be closing up shop on July 31, 2019.
After that time, users will no longer be able to access their film collection through Ultraviolet and must instead go through a paired retailer.
According to Ultraviolet, the service stored 300 million movies and TV shows for more than 30 million users – all of whom will need to log in before the July cut off date and link their account to another service to avoid losing their films.
The service, which began eight years ago, has faced stiff competition from its rival Movies Anywhere, which partnered with larger movie studios and tech companies. Ultraviolet also struggled against the rise of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and others.
Emails were sent out to users in late January about the service’s closure and while we’re certainly sad to see it go, your online movie collection doesn’t have to disappear with it.
Step 1. Make sure every film in your collection is registered
If you’ve purchased a Blu-ray in the last eight years you’ve probably seen a small piece of paper inside the case telling you to redeem your Ultraviolet digital copy – a free version of the film stored on Ultraviolet’s servers that allowed you to download and watch the movie on other devices.
Unfortunately, that’s the exact service is closing its doors on July 31.
The good news is that Ultraviolet will recognize all registration code requests up until the service shuts its doors – all you need is that code that came with your Blu-ray.
Once you have a code in hand, follow the instructions on the back of the card to register the film.
Step 2. Register your Ultraviolet account with other digital content providers
Once the service shuts down in July the only way to access your digital movie collection will be through the first-party content providers - i.e. studios and streaming services like Paramount, FandangoNow, Verizon Fios and Vudu.
That’s why it’s absolutely crucial that you log into your UV account and check out the Retailer Services page (found in the top-right corner in the nav bar).
Once you’re there, link your Ultraviolet account with each one of the relevant services.
(Side note: While Ultraviolet codes will no longer work after July 31, according to the service’s FAQ section you should still be able to register those films with another retailer like Vudu, FandangoNow, etc.)
Step 3. Download any film you want stored locally
Once your Ultraviolet account is linked to the first-party content providers, the last step in the process is to go to each of the first-party providers to obtain the digital version of the film that you can store locally.
The process for this will vary from platform to platform, but basically it just entails going through each film of your Ultraviolet collection, clicking the Watch (Eye) icon, and then downloading the film or TV show from the first-party source.
Just be warned, however, that last part may require you to install additional software - in the case of Vudu, you'll need to install the Vudu app for Windows for example.
And that's it! Once you've fully downloaded your Ultraviolet film collection locally, it's yours to keep.
- What should you do with all your movies? Put them on PLEX, of course
